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Kelli Fuller was treated at the hotel by paramedics but refused to be taken to a hospital.

Police say the judge was on the bed when they entered the room, which smelled of alcohol.

There was broken glass and hair on the floor. Blood was discovered in the bathroom.

Kelli Fuller told police that her husband became violent after she accused him of having an affair with a law clerk in his Montgomery office.

She said he pulled her hair, threw her to the ground and dragged her, kicked her and struck her several times in the face.

Kelli Fuller's 17-year-old son, Hunter Gregg, also was at the hotel. He told police that he heard his mother and step-father fighting earlier in the evening as he passed by their room. He said they had been drinking and described a volatile relationship, telling police 'this was not the first time an incident like this had occurred.'

Fuller was released from jail and is free on $5,000 bond. He was scheduled to appear in court on Friday in Atlanta but the hearing has been delayed until Sept. 5, records show.

Big case: Fuller presided over the public corruption trial of former
Alabama governor Don Siegelman (left) and former HealthSouth CEO Richard
Scrushy (right)

Ragsdale said the delay was routine and not related to Fuller's decision to seek help. The battery case could be resolved at the next hearing, Ragsdale said.

An Atlanta attorney is representing Fuller in the criminal case.

U.S. Circuit Judge Gerald Tjoflat, acting as the chief judge of the 11th Circuit, sent Fuller a complaint following his arrest to begin the judicial discipline process outlined under federal law, Ragsdale said.

While federal judges serve lifetime appointments and can be removed only through impeachment, legal experts say they also are subject to administrative procedures that can result in censure, reprimands or a request for their resignation.

Fuller has three weeks to respond to the complaint by Tjoflat.

'The complaint essentially recites the press reports,' said Ragsdale.

'It basically says, "Explain yourself."'

Federal law doesn't have a provision for the suspension of judges, and Fuller is still receiving his annual salary of $199,100 while not hearing cases.

James P. Gerstenlauer, chief executive of the 11th Circuit, said federal law states that judges' pay cannot be cut as long as they are in office.

Appointed by former President George W. Bush, Fuller is best known for presiding over the public corruption trial of former Alabama Gov. Don Siegelman and former HealthSouth CEO Richard Scrushy, who were both convicted in 2006 and went to prison.